The world is starved for energy—especially clean energy. As civilizations continue to expand at a rapid pace, current energy resources are being stretched to their limits. Many conventional energy resources emit dangerous toxins into the atmosphere. Established economies increasingly realize the need to diversify their energy resources so that they can become more independent, more environmentally friendly, and better overall stewards of their energy resources, thereby improving national security and reducing such emission that are caused by traditional energy sources such as coal and oil. The necessities and demands of third world economies are also quickly growing onto the world stage. Populations are surging. Energy is becoming more scarce, and as a result, the cost of energy is rising.
Alternative energy is now beginning to gain a foothold and find broader acceptance. Private individuals, businesses, and governments alike are looking for ways to integrate and adopt cleaner sources of energy. Windmills and turbines are now recognized as a truly clean and renewable source of energy. Moreover, as energy storage technologies improve, wind energy can be stored overnight when demand for energy is lower, and then deposited to the electrical grid during the day when demand for energy is higher. The assimilation of such technologies is making wind supported energy more attractive.
Nevertheless, conventional windmills and wind turbines can suffer from cost and efficiency disadvantages relative to other alternative energy technologies. Particularly for the smaller home owner, installing a typical windmill or wind turbine is usually cost prohibitive. In addition, conventional technology is generally noisy and lacks the efficiency necessary to produce a sufficient return on investment.
Accordingly, a need remains for an improved wind turbine having high efficiency and low noise characteristics.
The foregoing and other features of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.